Jump in with both feet. “It has beef blood in it.” When she wrinkled her nose he said, “There are African tribes who drink a blood and milk mixture as a regular part of their diet. But it is an acquired taste.”
She sipped, grimaced, and pushed away the glass. “It isn’t a taste I want to acquire.”
Which should make his supply safe from further curiosity on her part. She had not even asked where the beef blood came from.
He finished off the blood in the glass, to her obvious disgust, then brought her tea from the microwave and sat down with his. “Look, last night we…comforted each other. Think of it like that.” She started to speak, to protest, from her expression, and he cut her off with: “It’s a human need. I know an ex-hooker in San Francisco who made very good money in World War II meeting that need for soldiers and sailors on leave or shipping out maybe to die. So what happened doesn’t reflect weakness in you. Like I said before, you have bigger balls than many cops I’ve known. Or were you afraid I’d write your name on the restroom wall.”
She went bright red. “I…ah…I…no, I never thought anything like that.”
He smiled at her. “For a cop you’re a terrible liar. But I understand, since you don’t know me well enough to have a better opinion of me than that.”
The red deepened. “I’m sorry. I guess I should get to know you better.”
“I’d like that.”
She eyed him for several moments, then suddenly stood, with the look of someone acting before she lost her nerve, and unbuttoned her jeans. “These are wet. Can I dry them before I leave?”
Even given the vampire lure, that surprised him. Still, to be a gentleman, he should rise to the occasion, right? He stood, too. “Do you need help out of them?”
This time they unfolded the bed, and in comfort, proceeded slowly, exploring each other. Though they ended as fiercely and explosively as last night.
“Wow!” Maggie collapsed on him. “Wow!” Rolling off, she snuggled against him. “Yee-haw.”
It had to be the vampire thing. Not even Marti, unstinting in her enthusiasm, ever gave him a wow yee-haw. Nice to know unlife had one benefit.
He did not remember falling asleep, but woke near sunset to find a note by the pillow.
14
She saw him…but other than giving him a warm and breezy greeting — countering the continued drizzle outside — said nothing hinting at last night, nor indicated any change in their relationship with her body language. Then she came out of the locker room with her purse and paused to eye Nat, standing at the forms rack dropping reports into the Return To Officer box.
“I never noticed before, Sarge, but you have a nice butt. Yours isn’t bad either, Mikaelian.”
And took off down the hall, out the rear entrance.
Nat and Sue Ann stared after her. Garreth made himself do likewise while grinning inwardly. Nice move, making him an “afterthought” in her wisecrack. He had no trouble accepting the way she wanted to play this. Around here he doubted it could be kept quiet long, but when they were found out, Maggie might be ready for the smart remarks and tasteless practical jokes sure to follow.
“That’s a first,” Nat said. “I wonder what got into her.”
“Or who,” Sue Ann said.
Garreth ticked his tongue. “Don’t tell me you think getting laid is the answer to whatever ails a woman.”
“Yes,” she shot back, “…and for whatever ails a man, too. I know it’s always good for my Leland’s tension.” She wiggled her brows, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Wouldn’t hurt you, either, Garreth.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, and escaped before she saw more than he wanted.
Rain continued until about three, giving him another quiet shift. With Maggie waiting for him in the dark in his apartment when he reached home.
She blushed. “Helen Schoning stopped me outside the municipal court today and gave me a key. She said she’s afraid I’ll catch pneumonia on the steps. I’ll give it back if you don’t want me to have it.”
He considered. The idea of anyone being able to walk in while he slept and was vulnerable chilled him. But was that any different than letting himself go to sleep with her still there? “Keep it.”
Only when she sighed did he realize she had been holding her breath waiting for his answer. “Helen also asked if you will please drive your car to work tomorrow, even if it isn’t raining, and park on her side of the drive when you come home. Why?”
“So a friend can use the garage.”
Her eyes widened. “A — Helen is — ”
“As entitled to her privacy as I’m sure she feels we are. So you can be reassured no one will hear about us from her just as I never look to see if I know her friends’ cars. Now, how do you rate the rest of the butts in the BPD?”
15
It rained again for his Monday shift. Maggie did not come over and the bed already felt empty without her.
Tuesday dawned with a clear blue sky, crisp autumn air, and leaves glowing incandescent yellow and red. Tuesday Baumen buried Diane and Jonah.
Garreth made himself wake up and attend the funerals. Not exactly ordered to, but the memo Danzig posted on Monday made his feelings clear.
So Garreth made sure he was, too…uniform crisp, gear belt polished. And went well fed to curb hunger amid all that blood scent. They held Jonah’s service in the morning. PD officers and their families sat in a block. Counting noses — Danzig, Lieutenant Kaufman, Nat, Maggie, Duncan — Garreth wondered who was minding the store besides Bill Pfannenstiel.
Reserve Officer Chuck George it appeared, who drove the patrol car leading the procession from the packed First Christian Church to Mount of Olives cemetery.
Diane’s service came in the afternoon, at the equally crowded St. Thomas More Catholic church…where a horse blanket covered with show ribbons, mostly blue or purple, draped the casket. Pfannenstiel replaced Duncan in the PD contingent, though Garreth spotted the woman and teenage girl who had attended Jonah’s funeral with Duncan — his sister and the niece who wanted to barrel race like Diane — elsewhere in the congregation. He sat next to Maggie. During the service, her hands and jaw clenched with the effort of keeping her composure. He put a hand over the near fist, and her hand turned to interlace fingers tightly with his. Beyond her, Garreth saw Martin Lebekov notice and smile.
Since the cemetery lay just across from the church, they had no vehicle procession. Everyone walked. Sterling-Weiss had a vintage buckboard waiting in front of the church, draped in black. It carried the casket, still covered by the horse blanket, across to the cemetery. Followed by a bay horse tacked in western saddle and bridle with cowboy boots turned backward in the stirrups like a military funeral, then the rest of the mourners. At the grave site, John and Anita Sterling folded the horse blanket and presented it to Diane’s parents like a flag.
Garreth did not see a dry eye in the house, including his.
Maggie had the bed unfolded when he reached home after his shift. Not for sex this time, but to cuddle
